Women's Intuition
by i'm okay now
Summary: Reid loves to cook. Hotch loves to eat. When the SSAID's family comes over to the younger agent's house for a meal, Hayley picks up on something... one-sided Hotch/Reid. may add a sequel if I get enough reviews :


A/N: Sorry about not updating for so long, life is crazy. I will probably post a few more Criminal Minds or Tsubasa fics before I return to Harry Potter--sorry if you were waiting for another Marauders fic! I'm not sure if I got Hayley right, I have yet to see an episode with her in it, and I'm not entirely sure if Jack is really four. Constructive crit is welcome! If I get enough reviews, I may write a sequel to this that isn't one-sided Hotch/Reid... ;)

Dr. Spencer Reid loved to cook. When his father had walked out and his mother's condition worsened, he'd had to rely on himself to come up with a meal in order to keep both of them alive. At first, he'd viewed cooking as another chore, merely a dull task he had to endure to keep the house functioning as close to "normal" as it could. As he grew, his feelings changed, and he now found joy (and occasionally, pride) in creating a delicious "masterpiece" for himself or another to enjoy.

Whether it was chicken parmesan (top spaghetti with a breaded chicken patty, sprinkle with cheese if desired) or a stew from the Middle Ages he'd found the recipe for in some thick, dusty tome he'd dug up from god-knows-where (Mix many undesirable-looking pieces of what might hesitantly be called food in a thick broth, let simmer for 5 minutes. Yields a surprisingly scrumptious stew everyone will love) or, if he was really lazy, macaroni and cheese straight from the box (add milk, butter, and suspicious-looking yellow powder which magically becomes cheese to cooked & strained noodles, stir) Reid would be happy to fix it. However, he refused to serve chili dogs, due to a misfortunate accident he'd had at the first (and last) ball game he'd attended. He refused to talk about it.

SSAID Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner loved to be the lucky consumer of Reid's lovingly prepared meals. He would devour them in much the same vigorous manner of a starved wolf, and praised Reid as if he were a world-famous gourmet chef (which, as far as Hotch was concerned, he was). The obvious admiration flustered Reid as much as it pleased him, though that did not keep him from making his boss lunch a few times each week (and other members of the BAU, if they requested it).

Eventually, Spencer asked his superior if him and his family would like to come to his apartment for dinner, stammering in an embarrassed way that the elder secretly found endearing. Hotch, of course, eagerly accepted the offer, looking forward to tasting Reid's cooking once again.

And this is why he'd stuffed Jack into his car seat and almost dragged Hayley to the car at 5:30 on a Friday night. He babbled on excitedly about Reid's cooking as he drove, following the young agent's hand-written directions. Jack quickly fell asleep to the hypnotic hum of the engine, and Hayley became unresponsive, though if it was because he'd never gone on about her cooking like this or it was her "time" again, Hotch didn't know.

When they arrived, Jack had to be woken and carried indoors by Hotch, and Hayley followed behind. Spencer had been all smiles when they arrived, even as he apologized for the lack of space, silverware, the ten-minute wait for their meal, and anything else that came to mind. Hotch firmly told him that it was fine, and Hayley engaged Spencer in polite conversation once their meal was ready (a many-layered casserole that was simply delicious, and Kraft mac n' cheese with hot dogs for Jack). Reid managed to go off on a long-winded rant only twice, and successfully won Jack's adoration when he asked about the child's most recent fascination: dinosaurs. The young agent grinned as the young boy told him everything he knew, and he told him about many species and bits of information that were new to the four-year-old. Hotch had laughed when Reid called him Batman, using Garcia's nickname for him (Reid was Robin). Jack also found this highly amusing. All of them thanked Reid for the invitation and complimented him on a job well done before they left, which made the young man blush.

Jack passed out in the car on the way home, and they were halfway there before Hayley spoke. "How long has Dr. Reid had a crush on you?"

The car swerved, and Hotch quickly righted their course before demanding what she meant. "Couldn't you _see_ the way he looked at you?" she asked, both incredulous and detached. Hotch blinked, realizing that she was disturbed (and maybe threatened?) about what she believed. He also wondered what the hell she was talking about.

"He practically glowed every time he looked at you, Aaron. How can you not know that your co-worker is not only _gay_ but completely infatuated with you?" Hotch was annoyed by this point of the conversation, not liking the tone in her voice.

"Would you have a problem with Spencer if he was gay?" he asked sharply, putting a bit more emphasis than necessary on the _if_.

"Would you have a problem with working alongside someone who has feelings for you when you're already married?" she shot back, the undercurrent of venom in her voice obvious now.

"Hayley." He reprimanded her. "Just drop it, okay? I'm certain that Spencer does _not_ have a crush on me." She felt threatened, he decided, though he couldn't figure for the life of him why. He also decided that it was most definitely her "time of the month".

He went to bed that night annoyed, his good mood from dinner ruined quite thoroughly.

The next day at work, Hotch was a bit more gruff than usual. Reid, being Reid, asked him what was wrong. Begrudgingly, Hotch told him about his conversation with Hayley.

"Weird, huh? The things women come up with." He finished, forcing out a short laugh. Reid nodded, a strange look in his eyes.

"Yeah. The things." He replied, his voice a bit more flat than usual.

_Damn woman's intuition,_ Spencer thought to himself, unbeknownst to his boss.


End file.
